Destined to be long lived as the ship built alongside her, EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, troopship OXFORDSHIRE was completed on February 14th 1957 for old customer Bibby Line.
She became the last troopship in 1962 and following a layup on the Fal was sold to the Vlasov Group better kown as SITMAR and converted in May 1963 at the Wilton- Fijenoord yard in Rotterdam to a dual liner/ cruise ship primarily at that time for the Australian emigrant trade. She was renamed FAIRSTAR. With the decline in emigration following the end of the Assisted Passages Scheme, FAIRSTAR concentrated on cruising a role which she fulfilled till 1997. New SOLAS requirements and unfortunate breakdowns saw her demise and as RIPA she made the journey to the Alang Beaches arriving there on April 10th for scrapping.

Come along to The Fairfield Heritage Centre 1048 Govan Road and hear Paul Strathdee's anniversary talk on the launch of the Oxfordshire 60 years ago, and her 40 year life from her time as a troopship to many years service as a P&O Cruise liner.

Tea and coffee available, Please let Abigail know if you can come along by calling us on 0141 445 5866 or by emailing,

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ClydeMaritime is a resource for all shipping news on the Clyde and beyond.

In addition to this forum, our main website contains listings for Arrivals and Departures on the Clyde, historical information and articles related to the Clyde and details of Cruise Ship visits and much more.